TaichixRei: If I Win
by Sonfaro
Summary: “Okay, if I win we see Action Ninja III: Ninja’s in the Terra’ Dome Hyah. You buy me anything I want from from the snack menu. And…” He smiled maliciously. “You have to give me a kiss afterwards.”


**TaichixRei: If I Win**

Sonfaro

--

"I don't think this is a good idea."

Rei Saiba slid strong fingers across the spokes of her wheelchair, brown eyes looking up at her cocky friend with a bemused twinkle. "And why do you say that?" She asked in response to the statement he'd muttered under his breath.

Taichi Yagami frowned, sliding one hand through unruly brown hair, the other firm to her wheelchairs handle. "Well… How can I be _P.C._ about this…" he sighed. "You're in a wheelchair." And he pushed against the handlebars and sped his walking as if to add emphasis to this 'profound' statement.

She pouted. "Oh come on Taichi, I've got strong arms."

"You say that now…"

She leaned back so that her red hair rested against the base of his stomach. "What, are you scared?"

He snorted. "I'm not scared. I'm concerned for your welfare. Besides, I thought you wanted to see a movie today."

"Of course I do. The movie theatre is only a few blocks away. That will be the finish line!"

"A few blocks!"

"Is that clucking I hear Mr. Chicken?"

"Hey I'm not a chicken." He sighed, leaning his chin onto the top of her head like he always did when he was being condescending. "I just don't think it's a good idea. What with the way your brother hates me and all."

Rei frowned, more from annoyance that Taichi still didn't quite trust her sibling than anything else. "My brother doesn't hate you," she stated firmly. "You're one of his closest friends. He just finds you very, very annoying."

"All the more reason for us to just see a movie and go home…"

"A movie and ice cream," she corrected.

"Alright little miss sweet-tooth, a movie and ice cream."

She hesitated, fingers playing against the edge of her wheels, until she broke out into the biggest of grins. "I think you _can't_ do it."

He sighed, defeated. "Fine, lets have your stupid race."

She clasped her hands together and celebrated. "Yes!"

Taichi yawned, clearly not amused. "So what happens when we win?"

Rei looked up at him again."When _I_ win, we go see _Sakura Kisses_, you pay for anything I want from the snack menu, you _can't _flirt with the receptionist, you pay for the ice cream afterwards…" She smiled sweetly at him. "And you have to tell all your friends we went out on a date."

"Harsh." He dodged an elbow to his hip. "Okay, if I win we see Action Ninja III: Ninja's in the Terra' Dome Hyah…"

"…"

"What?"

"Are you serious?"

"What?"

"…_Hyah_?"

He shrugged. "Its part of the title…" He defended. "I get to flirt with the receptionist, if she's cute. You buy me anything _I_ want from the snack menu…"

"How original."

"I'm not done. I get a giant tub of popcorn you aren't allowed to put your hands in. And…" He smiled maliciously. "You have to give me a kiss afterwards."

Rei made a face. "Gross…"

"On the lips. Tongue optional."

"I think I might faint."

"Oh shut up, I'm a great kisser."

She waved him and his pouting lips away from her cheek. "Fine, fine…"

"Pinky swear?" He extended his smallest finger.

She locked his with her own. "Fine."

He nodded and pushed her till they were about a block and a half away from the movie theatre, and waited until the sidewalk was cleared of any pedestrians, both thanking their lucky stars there was a V-Pet convention downtown.

They didn't need to attend of course. They had seen the real things.

"Alright!" He grinned when the coast was cleared. "Ready?"

She grinned, and placed her fists tight around the rubber of her wheels. "On your mark…."

"Get se… Hey no fair!"

"You snooze you lose Yagami!" She screamed as she sped off towards the theatre.

But it did not take his fine tuned muscles long to catch up with her, advantage or not. Soon they were neck and neck. Taichi took the time to taunt a little, as he was known to do from time to time, back pedaling up hill nearly as fast as Rei could push her wheels. "What was that? I snooze I loose? Huh?"

Rei blinked then smiled evilly. She looked so much like Neo it sent chills down Taichi's spine. "Turn around… "

Taichi blinked. "Hill? No fair!" But Rei had already sped past him, down hill, letting go of her wheels and screaming in delight at the top of her lungs. Taichi stumbled and tried to catch up. "Hey, you cheated!"

"EAT MY DUST!" Rei shut her eyes and laughed aloud. "Hahahahaha… Whoa-wha… WHAA!!"

There was a loud crash.

"Rei!" Taichi panicked, rushing to the accident. Her wheelchair was sideways, beside the trash canister she'd run head long into. Rei herself was lying on the ground, glaring invariably at her legs. Tai was relieved. At least she was alive.

The funny thing was, he was going to let her win.

"Rei, are you okay," he asked her when he reached the young girls side.

"Yeah." She pouted when she looked into his eyes. Then she caught his gaze. "What are you looking at… _Perv_!" She thrust her hands between her unmoving legs, her face as red as her hair.

Taichi's face was similar. "What!? I wasn't looking at that… Besides, you're wearing shorts!"

"Stupid Tai…" She mumbled beneath her breath.

He paused. "Eh?"

Rei raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Taichi shook his head. "Sorry, my friend calls me that a lot."

Rei narrowed her eyes. "Of course she does. You _are _stupid."

Taichi frowned. "How do you know it's a _she_?"

Rei reached for her wheelchair. "'Cause you don't hang around boys outside of your soccer team you incurable flirt, now help me up."

Taichi rolled his eyes and set the chair back onto its wheels. Gingerly, so as not to grab on to the things on her chest that she'd started getting a few months ago that made him feel weird inside, he lifted the girl back into the chair. He sighed, glad that the main ordeal was over. Now, to what had worried him (and caused her to think he got a kick over looking up girls skirts… not to say that he didn't mind you). "Your leg is bleeding."

She blinked and looked down at where once pale skin dripped with crimson. "What?"

"Your knee. It's scraped up pretty bad."

"Oh no…" She sighed, trying to wipe the sticky substance off her fingers. "Neo is going to kill me."

"No he isn't." Tai groaned. "He's going to kill me." Then he blinked, noticing something and grinned. "Well… Maybe it wont be so bad. Stay there."

"Taichi, wait, where are you…"

But he was gone, racing away from her into the nearby Inoue convenience store. She sat dejected. Not so much because she was hurting from her neck to her waist. Nor because she couldn't _feel_ the blood trickle down her leg. That was a kind of suck she had learned to deal with.

The truth had been, she was going to let him win.

He bounded out of the store seconds later with a bag and a smile he'd only get when he had met a pretty girl. Rei frowned. "What is that?"

He pulled three items from the back. One, Rubbing alcohol. Two, what appeared to be duct tape. And three, toilet paper.

Taichi gave a cheeky grin. "It's your new band-aid."

She glared playfully. "That's duct tape and toilet tissue."

"It'll last until the movie's over won't it?"

She blinked. "You still want to go with me?"

He nodded emphatically. "Sure. If you don't bleed to death."

She let him hold her limp leg, and for a moment, she could have sworn she felt firm hands brush against the side of her thigh as he wrapped the tape and tissue around the wound. Suddenly Rei felt very warm. "Y-you seem to know what you're doing," she said.

He looked up at her. "I don't, I'm making this up as I go."

She smiled and smacked him upside the head. Gently of course. "Stupid Tai…"

"Again with that nickname… It's creepy."

Rei stuck out her tongue at the sight of the misshapen bandage Taichi had thus far constructed. "That looks gaudy and crappy…" a pout from Taichi sent her back pedaling. "And I'm sure it works wonders!"

Taichi raised an eyebrow. "Just remember who saved your life today."

Rei blinked and nodded. "You did."

"That's right. Whose the man?"

"You are."

"Who's the fastest man in all the land?"

"You…"

"That's right! Whose the best lookin' guy in all japan?"

"You."

Taichi hadn't expected that. He'd tried to pull that before. It never used to work with her. "Eh?"

Rei blushed, but hid her face well. "Well I would have said my brother, but that would have been weird. And Hideto's all right, but he frowns too much. And you can never see Siggy without bangs in his eyes…"

"Is that what we're calling _SIGMA_ now?"

Rei shrugged. "Beats his real name."

"True," Taichi mused.

She sighed as Taichi finished off her bandage. "I guess you won huh?"

"Mm?"

"You won the race."

"Did I?"

She nodded, waiting. Taichi let his eyes roll to the heavens before smiling lightly at her. "Let's call it a draw for now, Mm?"

"Alright… So what does that mean?"

Taichi considered it. "I'll pay for the movie and ice cream. We go see Action Ninja III: Ninja's in the Terra' Dome…"

"_Hyah_…"

"Cute. We buy a big tub of popcorn to share in the theatre, and a big drink… I mean two! Cause you know… or maybe two straw… Er… No, definitely two drinks… and…"

"And?" Rei waited.

"You never tell Neo, any of this!"

"No I mean…" Her face got very red again, and instead of hiding it she looked directly at him, cheeks blazing with heat. "What about the other thing…"

"Oh…" Tai whispered as he looked up to her. "Um… I guess that's up to y-…"

By the start of 'you' of course, Rei had already captured his mouth with her own, and the wonderful taste of Taichi Yagami flooded her system. And when the shocked boy kissed her back, Rei knew there was hope for her yet; for she could have sworn her toes started curling.

When she pulled away, a winded, very flustered Taichi glared at her. "Stupid Rei. We haven't even made it to the movies."

She shrugged. "You said it was up to me. Besides." She let a finger trace the edge of his chin. "Maybe I'll give you more later."

Steam, literally, poured from Taichi's shirt.

"Now come on," she tugged upwards on his collar, forcing him to rise. "Push me! We're gonna' be late aren't we?"

"Stupid Rei…" Taichi said, but followed the girls request with a smile anyways, grabbing both handles with skinned knuckles and racing full throttle the rest of the way to the movie theatre. It was ironinc, they'd later realize. They had both set off to race one another, with the full intention of losing.

Yet, in the end, they both won something.

--

Fin.

_AN: Got this after re-reading 'the long walk' again. So sue me if I steal my own stuff. :-)_

_EDIT: (3/27/2010) clean up + quick additions to make story flow better. Hope you don't mind._


End file.
